Two Union Street nightclubs earmarked for demolition have been saved – because the council does not have the money to buy them.

Both Crash Manor and Club Jesters, run by Steve Locke and his family, were potentially facing the wrecking ball as plans progressed for a £20million boulevard linking the waterfront to the city centre.

In April 2017 Councillor Patrick Nicholson, who was deputy leader at the time, said there would be a need to widen Bath Street, which would impact on the two venues and other buildings in that row.

But Mr Locke, who says business has been severely affected by the uncertainty surrounding the future of the building, has now received a letter saying the plans won't be going ahead.

The letter says the funding the council had initially hoped to attract is "no longer available".

However a council spokesperson could not confirm this because they "cannot disclose commercially-sensitive information".

Read More

Buildings along Bath Street have already been demolished in preparation for development (Image: Penny Cross)

Mr Locke, who can now push ahead with a refurbishment project at Jesters, said: "I'm glad it has all been sorted because I am about to spend thousands of pounds on a new dance floor and lighting rig, the likes of which have never been seen in Plymouth before.

"This has been a problem hanging over us for 12 months and we have been stuck doing nothing because I didn't want to spend money if we were going to be served a Compulsory Purchase Order.

"I just hope the council doesn't come back in another 12 months having changed their minds.

"The problem with Plymouth people is what they don't know, they make up. We even had someone come in saying their partner had given the council a quote for demolition."

Read More

This is the letter Steve Locke received from Plymouth City Council (Image: Sarah Waddington)

Jesters was founded 1991 by Gill Locke, her husband Ken and their two sons David and Steve.

The family also owns Crash Manor, and the Pizza Fast and Need a Cab buildings on the corner of Union Street.

Setting out plans for the boulevard scheme in a site planning statement last year, the council said: “Although the Jesters nightclub buildings on the site’s northern boundary are within the Union Street conservation area, they are not listed and have been altered significantly from their prime historic condition.

“Any remaining heritage value these buildings have is considered outweighed by the strategic importance of marking a new gateway to Bath Street.”

The area between Millbay, Union Street and Plymouth Pavilions is currently occupied by car repair workshops, warehouses and offices, alongside The Hub music venue and the Shekinah hostel in Bath Street.